University of Louisiana at Lafayette Athletics
Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns
South Alabama
Cajuns Look to Continue SBC Success against South Alabama
4/11/2014 4:17:00 PM | Softball
#18/20 Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns (28-6-1, 9-0 SBC) vs #15/16 South Alabama Jaguars (31-6, 8-2 SBC)
Date: April 12-13
Location: Lafayette, La.
Radio: ESPN 1420 (Steve Peloquin & Bobby Neveaux)
Live Stats: www.RaginCajuns.com
Television: Saturday Games - MyKLAF/ESPN3 (Dan McDonald & Mike Mitchell)
Time: 2 p.m. Saturday (DH), 1 p.m. Sunday
Game Notes
What's On Tap? The Cajuns bring a 13-game winning streak into their fourth Sun Belt Conference series, when they welcome #15 South Alabama to town for a three-game series at Lamson Park. The Cajuns and Jaguars played four times last season, with the Jaguars winning three games, including a pitching duel for the ages between Jordan Wallace and Hannah Campbell, in which each pitcher brought a no-hitter into extra innings.
About the Opponents: The Jaguars come into the weekend as the defending Sun Belt Conference Tournament Champions, holding a conference-best 31-6 overall record, but sit in second in the Sun Belt with a 8-2 record, a game and a half behind the Cajuns. South Alabama boasts one of the nations hottest pitching combinations in the nation in Farish Beard (17-3, 0.63 ERA 169 K), and Hannah Campbell (12-3, 0.82 ERA, 132 K). The duo has helped lead the Jaguars to 31 wins, despite having just the fourth-highest scoring offense in the conference, averaging 4.75 runs per game.
The Week That Was: The Ragin' Cajuns earned their third-straight Sun Belt Conference sweep and won games 11, 12 and 13 in a row, defeating the WKU Lady Toppers 8-4, 11-5 and 6-4 in Bowling Green, Ky. this past weekend. The Cajuns got strong performances at the plate, including two homers from Lexie Elkins and Shelbi Redfearn, and eight RBI from Elkins, en route to a Sun Belt Player of the Week selection. Jordan Wallace picked up two wins in the circle to improve to 13-2 on the season, and Christina Hamilton also picked up a win and got the save on Sunday.
Adding to the Win Column: The Ragin' Cajuns have won a season-high 13 consecutive games, and 20 of their last 21 games, with their lone loss coming to the defending National Champions, the Oklahoma Sooners on March 14. In the last 21 games, senior Natalie Fernandez is batting .594 (41-for-69) with 30 runs scored, and junior pitcher Christina Hamilton has gone 10-0 with a 1.16 ERA and 82 strikeouts. The Cajuns have had a few notable streaks in the past few seasons. In 2013 they put together a 23 game winning streak, and in 2012 they opened the season with a 28-game winning streak.
Elkins for Sun Belt PLayer of the WEek: After batting .500 and driving in eight runs with two home runs, Ragin' Cajuns catcher Lexie Elkins earned her second SBC Player of the Week honors of the season, after winning her first on Feb. 10 in the league's opening weekend. Elkins drove in the eventual game-winning runs in the weekend opener and keyed both the Cajuns' six-run fourth inning in game two on Saturday and the team's four-run fifth inning on Sunday with a home run and an RBI single.
Walsh's Emergence: After batting .135 (7-for-52) in the first 21 games this season, sophomore Samantha Walsh has hit .333(14-for-42) in the past 14 games, including a seven-game hitting streak, with three home runs and 10 RBI. She has also been one of the Cajuns' most reliable defenders making one error on 36 chances at third base. A career .236 hitter with nine home runs, Walsh holds a .941 fielding percentage between second base, third base and shortstop.
Where do they Rank? The Ragin' Cajuns moved from 21st to 18th in the NFCA/USA Today Poll, and to 20th from 22nd in the ESPN/USA Softball Poll this past week. They are 4-4 against teams ranked in the top 25, and will be taking on their first ranked opponents since they took two of three games against Oklahoma in the middle of March. The Cajuns started the season as the 13th ranked team in the nation in the NFCA poll, their highest ranking of the season and 15th in the ESPN poll.
Going for the Record: If the season were to end today, Natalie Fernandez would break the Ragin' Cajuns record for batting average in a career and a season. She is currently hitting at a .518 clip for the season, improving her career batting average to .411, which is nine points ahead of Becky McMurtry's .402, from 2002-03. The highest average for a four-year player is .392, set by Katie Smith (2008-12), the sister of current Cajuns outfielder, Kendall Smith. The Ragin' Cajuns single season record his held by Katie Smith in 2012, a .447 clip.
Fernandez Among Actives: Here is where Cajuns senior, Natalie Fernandez's career stats rank among active players:
| ## | D-I | Overall | D-I Leader | ## | |
| Games Played | 211 | 22nd | 30th | Courtney Senas, Florida State | 227 |
| Batting Average | .411 | 11th | -- | Haylie McCleney, Alabama | .476 |
| Runs Scored | 173 | 5th | 13th | Jennifer Gilbert, Ball State | 194 |
| Hits | 229 | 14th | 25th | Jill Barrett, Tulsa | 289 |
Wallace Among Actives: Here is where Cajuns junior, Jordan Wallace's career stats rank among active players:
| ## | D-I | Overall | D-I Leader | ## | |
| Victories | 72 | 11th | 19th | Hannah Rodgers, Florida | 113 |
| Strikeouts | 669 | 15th | 23rd | Whitney Canion, Baylor | 1,311 |
| Strikeouts/7 inn. | 8.86 | 6th | 13th | Aimee Creger, Tulsa | 9.93 |
| Shutouts | 16 | 40th | - - | Sara Moulton, Minnesota | 44 |
Getting Offensive: The Cajuns boast the 15th-most potent offense in the NCAA this season, averaging 6.43 runs per game. That mark tops the Sun Belt, with ULM coming in second with 5.52 runs per game. The Cajuns run output can be credited to the nations second-best 1.56 home runs per game and their 12th-ranked slugging percentage (.526).
We've Got the Power: The Ragin' Cajuns have put on an impressive power display at Lamson Park this season, hitting 32 of their 55 home runs at Lamson Park. The Cajuns are joined by Arizona, Georgia, Auburn, Oklahoma and Arizona State as the only teams in the NCAA to hit 50-or-more home runs and have done so in the fewest amount of games. The Cajuns have 17 more home runs than the next-highest in the Sun Belt, Georgia State, and hold down the top three individual spots in the conference lead, with Haley Hayden leading the way with 12, Shelbi Redfearn in second with 11, and Lexie Elkins is in third with 10.
Triple-Double of Homers: The Ragin' Cajuns already have three players with 10-or-more homers in Haley Hayden (12), Shelbi Redfearn (11), and Lexie Elkins (10), marking the fourth time in the last ten seasons that the Cajuns have had three-or-more players with double-digits in the home run column. Last season the Cajuns had four players go deep more than ten times, a feat that the Cajuns look likely to achieve in 2014 with Sara Corbello already at eight home runs and Kelsey Vincent at six. The Cajuns trio are the only three players in the Sun Belt with ten-or-more homers.
Solid Starters: Both Christina Hamilton and Jordan Wallace have won double-digit games, achieving a feat the Cajuns did not get to last season, with Wallace winning 32 games and Victoria Brown winning the second most with nine. Prior to last season, the Cajuns only failed to have two double-digit winners in a season twice since 2000, coming in 2012 and 2007. The Cajuns had three double-digit winners in 2002 and 2000.
What's Next? The Cajuns will make up a previously postponed game against McNeese State on April 16 at Lamson Park at 6 p.m., before they head to Troy, Alabama to take on SBC foe, Troy, in a three-game series. The Cajuns and Trojans will play on April 18-19 with Friday doubleheader (4 p.m.) and a single game on Saturday (Noon), a break from normality in the SBC schedule, to accommodate for the Easter holiday on Sunday. The three game set at Troy opens up an eight-game roadtrip, with the Cajuns heading to Baylor on April 22 for a non conference doubleheader at 4 p.m., and then to Arlington, Texas to take on UT Arlington in their final scheduled road games of the season. The Cajuns will return to Lamson Park on April 30 for a midweek bout with Nicholls State at 6 p.m.
-- www.RaginCajuns.com --
